WCN August 2020

Ag Tech
Continued from Page 68
from the southern San Joaquin through
the Sacramento Valleys. Nearly contiguous
production areas facilitate the
movement of these pests, and at some
point resistance as well.
The greater pest problems are accompanied
by a reliance on a limited
number of crop protection products.
Regarding NOW sprays, Andre Alves,
Strategic Account Manager for Corteva
Agriscience, notes that, “Traditionally,
pyrethroids were always used, but
we know all the problems associated
with those. So, there is a lot of pressure
to move away from those, but that is
putting more pressure on our really
effective, selective insecticides.”
The problem we face is that even
highly effective, environmentally-friendly
products have a finite
lifespan. UCCE Specialist Dr. Houston
Wilson states, “It’s like any given
chemical class; you have to use it
smart, because eventually something
is going to happen. There is no chemical
that has lasted us forever; they are
lost either because of regulation or the
insect regulating through resistance, or
the cost.”
Even with great IPM practices, there
are still times when chemical treatment
is necessary. The looming question is
whether the industry will have enough
treatment options to keep up with
evolving pest populations, and satisfy
consumer and regulator demands for
safety.
Shifting from Conventional
to Biological
This is where researchers and
manufacturers have been focusing
many of their efforts, including major
commitments to developing biological
products that combine commercial
efficacy with environmental safety.
Dr. Surendra K. Dara, UCCE Advisor
for Entomology and Biologicals
says, “The focus of the pesticide industry
is to develop chemistries that are
less harmful to the environment, and
do their job with minimal impact on
non-target organisms and the environment,
while ensuring human safety as
well.”
Manufacturers have dedicated
hundreds of millions of dollars in recent
years to partnerships, acquisitions
and building out research and development
capacity around biological
products.
One of the biggest challenges
around biological products, which can
include a wide
variety of biologically or naturally
derived active ingredients, is a lack of
confidence that
the products can perform to commercial
production standards. Some
people may also equate biological products
with Certified Organic products,
which is not necessarily the case. Dara
has observed this from growers and
PCAs.
“There is a skepticism about the
efficacy of biologicals that everyone is
aware of,” Dara said. “At the same time,
there is skepticism of conventional pesticides,
too. There are several chemical
pesticides that give inconsistent results.
But they do not question the efficacy,
because it is a conventional pesticide.
But when it comes to biological pesticides,
it may not work. That perception
has to change first.”
Building Experience and Confidence
New products on the market may
be able to accomplish that perception
change. Spear-Lep, for example, is a
peptide-based biological insecticide
manufactured by the Vestaron Corporation.
It is registered for use on labeled
tree nuts, and Technical Sales Representative
Noel Cornejo shared that
trial data suggest comparable activity
to conventional products available for
NOW control. If manufacturers are
able to develop and release cost-effective
biologicals with excellent crop
safety profiles, new modes of action
70 West Coast Nut August 2020